Antoine Mercier

For nine years I sold cheese on Rue des Martyrs. I started as the boy who cut the Comté and ended up choosing which farms we bought from, driving to the Jura and to Normandy twice a year to taste in the cellars. When the shop changed owners I took what I knew and started walking people up and down the same street, which I think is the best food street in Paris because people actually live on it. The baker knows my kids. The man at the fish counter still shouts my name. I am not a chef and I am not a historian, I am a shopkeeper who likes to talk, and I explain food the way we explained it to customers: what it is, where it comes from, what it costs and how to keep it. I also walk Montmartre, where I grew up, on the side the tourists skip. English is my second language, so be patient with my accent. You can now join my walks through Paris live on video, from any device, and ask me questions as we go.